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A billion is a billion except, when it isn’t. Depending on where and when you were raised and educated, the world “billion” is some magnitudes different–read on to see the difference between a billion in long and short number systems.

Jason Fitzpatrick is warranty-voiding DIYer and all around geek. When he's not documenting mods and hacks he's doing his best to make sure a generation of college students graduate knowing they should put their pants on one leg at a time and go on to greatness, just like Bruce Dickinson. You can follow him on Google+ if you'd like.

It’s just the UK government slavishly following whatever nonsense the US comes up with. They got it wrong (as usual) and we have to follow. btw we have long ago adopted metric units for almost everything except road signs; we still use miles.
Long system ftw.

Speaking as a well-educated American, I must admit that I had no idea about the long system. Through my scientific training, I came to love the metric system and have often wondered why English-speaking countries that still use inches have not been quicker to adapt. President Carter tried, unsuccessfully, to petition the US Congress for a switch to the metric system. Unfortunately, no other president since has picked up that torch.

I’m going to start using milliard around my friends just to frak with them. Of course, I’ll offer the educational bits afterward.

I live in Australia and remember our amusement when we saw our first shipment (in a bank) of our new decimal currency. It was so brightly coloured that “Monoploy Money” sprang to mind.

That was the planned start in 1966 of our moving completely to the decimal (metric) system, which was completed fairly quickly. However, some 15 years later while working in broad-acre farming areas, despite being fully fluent in the new system most farmers preferred to speak of their land holdings and crop yields in the old terms. That did give bigger numbers for area, but I believe they could visualise what was being described far more vividly in traditional rerms.

I do like the niceness of the long system; it has always bothered me that our prefixes make no sense. But it’s in the same way that I like the metric system. Logically, it makes more sense, but I’m so used to what we use here in the US that I don’t think I’d ever be able to transition to knowing the more logical systems as fluidly. It would make our nation’s debt seem awfully small, for one.

also @ slomem – pretty sure the rest of the world will do fine at their own pace WITHOUT needing to try and catch up to the U.S.. It’s a proven fact that the U.S. is not the ‘be all and end all’ of the world.

The long system does make plenty of sense. But the thing with changing the suffix and is just no. Just no. Billiard? You tell me that and I’ll picture pool tables and cue balls. Not numbers. But, it would be hard for the US switch over to the long system. Everything would be screwed over, the Education system would be even more flawed, no one would understand how big the debt is if we did so.

And I’m sorry the US doesn’t move quickly enough. Congress is full of shit, and it bogs everything down. And the general population blames the President rather than the real cause of the problem, which is Congress: the opposite of progress.

Ok lets get it right.Alendra in France can’t spell metres? strange. England on the 6th August 1897 was when Parliament passed the Metric system act to use metric weights measures in trade.The Imperial System however remained legal. The Metric system was imposed on Canada in 1970. However we still use Imperial measurements mixed with metric since we do most of our trade with the USA. Don’t ever change America! The US measure differ somewhat from the Imperial system..the short ton, 16 oz pint, can anyone tell me why the US fluid oz is 4% larger than the Imperial? I can easily do either system but I prefer Imperial the other one belongs in the lab..